Fifty-Eight Minutes
by angellwings
Summary: For a tumblr prompt challenge. Prompt: "How long have you been standing there?" "I didn't know you were keeping track." Set immediately after the last few minutes of episode 16.


"How's Jiya?" Wyatt asked when Rufus walked back into Mason Industries. He looked at his phone for the time. Lucy still wasn't back.

Rufus shook his head and furrowed his brow. "I'm not sure. She seems fine, but something's different. I don't know. I'll have to figure it out." He took a deep breath and then turned to Wyatt. "Where's Lucy?"

"She went home. She should be back soon. She said she'd be back in an hour and it's been," he paused and glanced at his phone again. "Fifty-eight minutes."

"Fifty-eight minutes exactly, huh?" Rufus asked with a smirk.

"What?" Wyatt asked as he feigned ignorance.

"Nothing, I said nothing," Rufus said as he maintained his smirk.

It was habit now to check the time on his phone. One minute had passed. Was he being obsessive?

"You know, checking your phone every 15 seconds does not actually make time tick faster," Rufus told him.

Wyatt tried to play it off with a shrug. Something felt off. She was finally going to get Amy back, he assumed she'd be eager, be back early. He checked his phone again, hoping for a text or a missed call. Nothing.

"Four times in the last two minutes," Rufus said with a chuckle.

Wyatt gave him a curious glance. "What?"

"You've checked your phone four times since I got here and I've only been here about two minutes," Rufus clarified.

"I didn't know you were keeping track," Wyatt grumbled. "Something doesn't feel right. She was excited when she left. She'd be here early."

"Or now that we've defeated Rittenhouse you're realizing you have no excuse to keep seeing her," Rufus told him with a knowing glance. "And you're anxious."

He had to admit that was part of it. That was why he'd put off Pendleton after his mission debrief. But that wasn't what this was. His skin was crawling with the sense of impending danger. He sighed and finally gave in to the urge to call her. He had to know.

One ring and then voicemail. She heard it ring, saw his name, sent the call to voicemail. That wasn't right. He texted quickly, _"Are you okay?"_

The dots appeared on the screen as if she were typing but no reply ever came. He waited for nearly ten minutes, just staring at his phone. Behind him, he could sense Rufus getting a bit restless too.

"Okay, I'm starting to think you're onto something," Rufus said as he pulled out his own phone. "Now, she's late. She wouldn't be late for this." He started to call Lucy but Wyatt reached out to stop him.

"I already tried that. One ring then voicemail."

"Text?"

"She started to type and then nothing."

"I'm getting Mason to ping her phone," Rufus said as he sprinted off toward Mason's office.

"I'm going to her mother's," Wyatt called after him. He ran out the door with a brief word to Agent Christopher as he left. He'd never driven faster. They thought they'd taken out Rittenhouse and they'd let their guard down. What were they thinking? They should have known they wouldn't go down without a fight.

He pulled into the driveway and found the front door left ajar. Not a good sign. His gun was out within seconds of seeing the door. He should have gone with her. They should have been extra vigilant about security. Why had they been so blind to the danger in taking down an all powerful secret society?

Standing outside the door, he could hear a voice. An eerily calm female voice.

"As we speak, the Mothership is being prepared for us. Once we've got control of it, you'll see, Lucy. You'll understand. Rittenhouse has big plans for you. I have big plans for you. You've thrown us a bit off course, sure, but it's nothing we can't correct. Noah. Mason Industries. Exposing our end goal. It can all be fixed and you're going to help us."

He carefully peeked through the gap in the door and found an older blonde woman standing between Lucy and the door. Lucy looked devastated. Her face was wet with tears and etched in confusion.

"I won't do it, mom. I don't care about your plans. I'll fight you if I have to," Lucy said between tears.

Wyatt's eyes widened and he winced. Couldn't Lucy catch a damn break? Her biological father was just arrested and now her mother is Rittenhouse too?

"Nonsense, you're not fighting your own mother," the woman said dismissively. "I'm just waiting for a phone call and once I have it we'll be on our way."

Like hell they would. He was getting Lucy out of there. He slowly and carefully pushed the door open. Praying there weren't any squeaky hinges. Lucy's eyes landed on him for a split second but she covered well.

"Was it all a lie, mom?" Lucy asked. "My whole life, my career, my choices, my engagement to Noah. Was any of it real?"

Her mother laughed. "Sweetheart, of course it was real. I didn't force you to feel anything for Noah, I didn't force you to love history. You did all of that on your own. I just pushed you in the right direction. Speaking of Noah, I'm certain he'll take you back. He's from a wonderful, loyal, prestigious family too."

Lucy's eyes widened. "What?"

Wyatt edged closer and just as he reached for the woman she turned with an overly polite smile.

"Wyatt Logan," Lucy's mother said with a nod. "How long have you been standing there, hm? I have to say it's nice to finally put a face with the voice."

She was unarmed so he had no reason to feel any small margin of fear, but he did. She wasn't at all alarmed to see an armed man standing in her front foyer.

"I've been standing here long enough to know I need to get Lucy somewhere safe," Wyatt said with a firm glare.

"She is safe. I would never hurt her. She's too important for that."

While her mother was focused on Wyatt, Lucy made a break for Wyatt. He held out his arm to her and she quickly positioned herself behind it. He used that arm to force Lucy behind him. She grabbed on to the bottom of his jacket as if latching on to her last lifeline. He felt his heart breaking for her. This was completely messed up. When her mother began walking toward them, Wyatt backed himself and Lucy out the front door with his gun aimed at her. Never in a million years would he have ever thought he'd have to aim his gun at Lucy's mother. What the hell was happening to their world?

"You can take her with you now," she said as she stayed behind the threshold of the house. "But eventually she'll see the good we're doing. You'll come back to me Lucy and you'll fulfill your true potential. You will."

"Like hell I will," Lucy muttered angrily from her position behind him. Wyatt kept his gun trained on the open doorway of the house where Lucy's mother stood while Lucy climbed into the passenger seat of his car. Once the door was closed he sprinted around and got in, driving off as fast as he could.

"What just happened?" Wyatt asked as he blew past multiple stop signs.

"My mother is…oh god," Lucy said as she leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes tightly. "I was telling her about saving Amy because I thought…I thought if I saved Amy that would mean she might be sick again, but then she started talking about how Rittenhouse wouldn't risk her being sick. That they wouldn't let me save Amy because it would mean losing her. She said I'm from _two_ strong Rittenhouse families. I'm," Lucy paused and rolled her watery eyes before closing them again. " _Royalty_."

"She was going to take you to the Mothership? Rittenhouse has control of the Mothership?" Wyatt asked in disbelief. He shook his head. "When I was on my way to find you, I was thinking we'd relaxed too much. We expected them to go down without a fight. We should have known better."

He saw the red lights but he didn't dare stop. Not until Lucy was back at Mason Industries where he could keep her safe.

"What if she's right?" Lucy asked in empty tone he'd never heard from her before. They'd been in plenty of bad spots but she'd never sounded like that. _Never_. "What if it's useless to fight them? I mean, Lindbergh went back to them. He had every chance to get away but he gave in. He went back. What if no matter what I do, I end up—"

"Stop," Wyatt said firmly with a shake of his head. "I don't really know what you're talking about with Lindbergh but that won't be you. God, Lucy, you're one of the strongest people I know. No one can make you do something you don't want to do." He reached over and took her hand. He squeezed it gently, hoping she'd look up at him. She did. He smirked at her before he continued. "Trust me, I've tried."

She chuckled but it was a weak and watery sound. "Thanks."

He kept hold of her hand as they pulled into Mason industries. The guard's closed the gates behind them and Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief. He parked and then turned to face Lucy. "Listen, I know it feels like everything has crumpled around you. I've been there. I get that. But it hasn't. Rufus is still here. Agent Christopher is still here. _I'm_ still here. We're going to fight Rittenhouse and we _will_ win. We've already weakened them. We can finish them off. Now we need to go in there and figure out what happened to the Mothership and what we do from here. Just like before, it's—"

"One problem at a time," Lucy finished for him with a sniffle and a slow nod.

"Exactly and nothing is going to happen to you. Not while I'm the one watching your six," Wyatt promised.

"I know that. I have total faith in you, Wyatt. I'm not…I'm not worried about me," Lucy admitted honestly. "Rittenhouse has proven they'll stop at nothing to get what they want. They take full advantage of any weakness or vulnerabilities, so I'm not worried about me."

"Then what is it?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"I'm worried about _you_ ," she admitted as she met his eyes again. She cleared her throat and then followed it quickly with. "And Rufus, Agent Christopher, Jiya. Everyone. Who's to say they won't hurt the people I care about? The only people left in my life I can really rely on? I can't lose anyone else, Wyatt. _I can't_."

"You won't," Wyatt promised as he pulled her to him. Usually she initiated the hugs but, like the World's Fair Hotel, this was an extreme situation. He hugged her awkwardly across the front seats. One hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her neck, nestling her into the crook of his neck. "I'm not going anywhere. Like I'd trust anyone else to look after you and Rufus," he said with a dry chuckle.

She held him a little tighter and snuggled deeper into him. He was probably enjoying this too much, but it was as much for his sake as it was for hers. She was there with him and safe. The tension in his shoulders eased slowly. He needed to take his own advice and focus on one problem at a time. The first one, getting Lucy somewhere safe, was solved. Now onto the next, telling the rest of the team.

"Let's go get the band back together, okay?" He asked as he rubbed her back soothingly.

She nodded against his shoulder. "Okay."

She didn't let him go for a long moment and when she finally did, he couldn't resist turning his head and placing a comforting kiss on her temple. She was deeply hurt and he wanted nothing more than to be there for her. He'd let her down in the past. He hadn't been there for her when she'd confronted her father. This time things would be different.

 _He_ would be different.


End file.
